Domenico Masdea, 69, is shown next to his 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village in the garage of his Tustin home on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. Masdea has been constructing the Christmas scene at his home at 2351 Caper Tree Drive for 35 years and opens it to the public from Dec. 1st to Jan. 6th. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A panoramic photo of the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village built by Domenico Masdea, 69, in his garage in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. Masdea opens his home to the public from Dec.1st to Jan. 6th. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Domenico Masdea, 69, is shown next to his 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village in the garage of his Tustin home on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. Masdea has been constructing the Christmas scene at his home at 2351 Caper Tree Drive for 35 years and opens it to the public from Dec. 1st to Jan. 6th. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Domenico Masdea, 69, named one of the miniature villages after his family, Madea’s Village, as part of his gigantic 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland located in his garage in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Susan Hansen, left, brings her mother Dorothene Moser, 95, to view the Christmas wonderland village in the garage at the home Domenico Masdea, 69, in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. When asked what Moser thought of the scene she exclaimed, “I think itÕs out of this world!” The Christmas display is open to the public after 5:30 pm daily between Dec. 1 and Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

One of the many villages in the giant Christmas wonderland at the home of Domenico Masdea in Tustin on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. The scene, built in his garage is 16-by-20 feet and is open to the public from Dec. 1 to Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

One of the many villages in the giant Christmas wonderland at the home of Domenico Masdea in Tustin on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. The scene, built in his garage is 16-by-20 feet and is open to the public from Dec. 1 to Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

One of the many villages in the giant Christmas wonderland at the home of Domenico Masdea in Tustin on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. The scene, built in his garage is 16-by-20 feet and is open to the public from Dec. 1 to Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A view of the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village built by Domenico Masdea, 69, in his garage in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. The scene includes waterfalls, villages, a nativity scene, and even a flying angel. Masdea opens his home to the public after 5:30 pm daily between Dec. 1 and Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A photo board on display shows family photos of Domenico Masdea, 69, constructing the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village at his home in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. Masdea has been constructing the scene every Christmas for 35 years. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A photo board on display shows family photos of Domenico Masdea, 69, constructing the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village at his home in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. In this photo Masdea is building the wooden frame the he builds the Christmas scene on. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A photo board on display shows family photos of Domenico Masdea, 69, constructing the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village at his home in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. In this photo Masdea pours sand for a road in one of the miniature villages. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Domenico Masdea opens his Christmas wonderland village to the public every year and has guests sign a visitor book. He has had visitor from as far away as Japan. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Domenico Masdea, 69, outside his home in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. Masdea not only builts a giant Christmas wonderland village in his garage but he also decorates his entire home. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

One of the many villages in the giant Christmas wonderland at the home of Domenico Masdea in Tustin on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. The scene, built in his garage is 16-by-20 feet and is open to the public from Dec. 1 to Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A Santa Claus and his dog is one of the many details in the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village scene built by Domenico Masdea, 69, in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A Santa Claus and his dog is one of the many details in the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village scene built by Domenico Masdea, 69, in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

One of the many villages in the giant Christmas wonderland at the home of Domenico Masdea in Tustin on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. The scene, built in his garage is 16-by-20 feet and is open to the public from Dec. 1 to Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A view of the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village built by Domenico Masdea, 69, in his garage in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. The scene includes waterfalls, villages, a nativity scene, and even a flying angel. Masdea opens his home to the public after 5:30 pm daily between Dec. 1 and Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A angel flies, via rope and pulley, over the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017 built every year by Domenico Masdea. Masdea has been constructing the village for the last 35 years. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

One of the many villages in the giant Christmas wonderland at the home of Domenico Masdea in Tustin on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. The scene, built in his garage is 16-by-20 feet and is open to the public from Dec. 1 to Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A view of the 16-by-20 foot Christmas wonderland village built by Domenico Masdea, 69, in his garage in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. The scene includes waterfalls, villages, a nativity scene, and even a flying angel. Masdea opens his home to the public after 5:30 pm daily between Dec. 1 and Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Susan Hansen, left, brings her mother Dorothene Moser, 95, to view the Christmas wonderland village in the garage at the home Domenico Masdea, 69, in Tustin on Monday, Dec 4, 2017. When asked what Moser thought of the scene she exclaimed, “I think itÕs out of this world!” The Christmas display is open to the public after 5:30 pm daily between Dec. 1 and Jan. 6. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

TUSTIN Each and every Dec. 1, Dominic Masdea unveils his fanciful invention with the click of a garage door opener.

Then each and every evening through the Epiphany, Jan. 6, dozens if not hundreds of visitors from around Orange County and beyond appear on his Tustin driveway for a look.

For the past 35 years, Masdea has transformed his two-car garage into a Christmas-themed jewel box. Wall to wall are miniature snow-frosted houses, shops, churches and firs. Ice skaters glide, reindeer roam, carnival rides spin and children frolic in the idyllic burg.

“It’s glorious,” said Mission Viejo resident Stephanie Wilson as she studied the figurines. “I wish I could shrink myself so I could go into the village and explore.”

In the backdrop, a waterfall tumbles over rocks into a pond. Idiosyncratically, a volcano spews lava — special effects owed to revolving foil, red lights and a smoke machine.

Why, amid all this serene romanticism, have a natural disaster? It’s Masdea’s nod to his native Italy and its three active volcanoes, he explained in a still heavy accent.

“I got rid of the volcano one year, but children were disappointed so I brought it back,” he said.

Masdea, 69, launched his tradition in 1982 — starting small with an 8-foot-square platform and houses he made himself from cereal and pasta boxes.

“My sister and I came home from school one day and Dad was busily hammering away in the living room,” said son Gianfranco Masdea, 42, an electrician in Orange. “It was a total surprise. But we loved it and still do. Every single time he opens that garage door, it’s the best thing ever all over again.”

The project briskly expanded, consuming the family’s 16-by-20-foot garage within a few years.

Masdea has spent thousands of dollars enhancing his brainchild with store-bought curios. The now-retired airplane parts machinist continued adding handmade touches, as well, including an angel who flies on a pulley.

Strategically placed mirrors amplify the size and depth of the winter wonderland. A computer screen at the top of the waterfall displays video of a babbling river from which it flows.

The artiste begins putting together his dreamworld about six weeks prior, hauling its myriad pieces down from the attic.

Once again, he nails together the plywood platform and covers it with green carpet. Crumpled brown paper forms the cave enveloping the town. Paths are made from sand collected at the beach.

Masdea starts at the rear of his garage as he arranges knickknacks and lighting on hands and knees, then works his way forward before circling back. Often, he keeps creating and perfecting well past dark.

Neighbors stop by for a sneak preview.

“So many people ask if they can help, but they never show up,” Masdea said with a wry chuckle. “Oh, well. I’d rather do it by myself. I get good ideas that way.”

At precisely 5:30 p.m. the first of December — this year, a Friday — Masdea ceremoniously opens the garage and throws the switch to the multitude of Christmas lights decorating his house. Some 200 friends, bearing food and wine, cheer him on.

At the same time for the next month and six nights, Masdea repeats the spectacle — showing it off until 10:30 p.m.

“We are prisoners for six weeks — we can’t go anywhere without getting a baby-sitter for Baby Jesus,” joked his good-natured wife Francesca, referring to the village’s creche. The couple chooses one dinner party to attend for the season, soliciting their son to take over.

In reality, Baby Jesus doesn’t emerge until Christmas Eve — a night so busy that Masdea leaves the garage door open until 1 a.m. for after-church sightseers.

“You can’t find parking for blocks,” he said.

Neighbors don’t complain, Masdea said: “They’re used to it, and it makes everything more festive.”

Even when undergoing treatment for a malignant neck tumor in 2007, Masdea’s extravagant hobby didn’t miss a beat.

After majoring in journalism at the University of Texas, Susan Christian Goulding got her start as a copy editor and reporter at the (late, great) Los Angeles Herald Examiner. She then worked at the (late, great) Santa Monica Outlook and the Daily Breeze as a features editor, writer and columnist. She moved to the Orange County bureau of the Los Angeles Times as a features and business writer. After that five-year stint, she worked as a correspondent for People magazine and a regular freelancer for Readers Digest while raising her two kids, Erin and Matt. During this time, she also wrote a weekly column for the Daily Breeze. Next, she gave up all possibility of free time and earned a teaching credential and masters at UCI. She taught English for four often rewarding and always challenging years in Compton, then at LMU and El Camino College. Missing journalism, Goulding circled back to her original career last year, joining the Orange County Register as a reporter covering Tustin, Seal Beach and Los Alamitos. She also enjoys her return to column writing for the newspaper's OC Home magazine.

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